- By Halimah Olamide
More controversies have been ignited online after the Nigeria Police Force explained what led to the death of a young Nigerian whose mother alleged was killed in its custody.
The mother had appeared in a popular programme Brekete where she narrated how she took food to the police station where her son was being held and was told that her son had died the previous night.
The mother, in a now viral video, had broken down narrating how she was bundled out of the police station on the order of the Divisional Police Officer after she insisted she wanted to know the cause of the death of her son.
The video which had elicited massive reactions online, had compelled the police spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, to explain that the boy in question died of “asphyxiation.” while in custody of the police.
In his explanation of what happened, the spokesman had written, “My attention has been drawn to this video. The matter is an old one and it has been decided. The FCT command handled the case. The autopsy report cleared the air on this. The boy, who was a cultist and arrested for alleged raping and killing of a young lady in the company of his friend, was never tortured by the police.
“The Force Headquarters was involved in the investigation then. Erasmus was a cultist who had been fingered in many crises and alleged killings of some innocent Nigerians in the area. He died of asphyxiation, according to the autopsy. Not torture, please. The autopsy was done in the presence of the doctor(s) of the deceased family. It’s unfortunate he died because the police even needed him to unravel some issues and pending cases in the area. May his soul rest in peace, while we urge Nigerians to always objective perception, understanding of cases, and view issues objectively before running down the police. We didn’t kill Erasmus.”
A video of the Brekete programme as shared by Chude Nnamdi with the X handle @chude_ seen below:
However, many have challenged the police over its explanation noting that asphyxiation is an indirect way of admitting that the police killed Erasmus.
A responder to the explanation with theX handle, @GabrialNaija had written “Very hefty allegations however, your explanation unfortunately is presents more questions than answers… the fact remains that a “suspect” supposedly innocent until proven guilty by a court of law died in your custody of asphyxiation. Another name for asphyxiation is SUFFOCATION.”
Another responder with the handle, @Harrison Gwamnishu, had advised the police, “Sir, with due respect. Why do you Police Image Makers always report what you were told without investigation? How can a suspect die of asphyxiation? That’s the suffocation. Did you visit the scene so they show you where he died ? Autopsy result is what you are coming to quote and also boldly tagging the young man a cultist where no one will speak for him? Did you make findings about his accusers? Did you visit the community where he was said to have killed and rape people?